Post navigation

As with June’s MacBook Air refresh, the new 13″ and 15″ MacBook Pro with Retina display are both about helping you work faster for longer.

The headlines this time are a bump in battery life (up to a whopping 9 hours of iTunes movie playback!), the inclusion of Intel’s new Haswell processors and, crucially, Intel’s Iris integrated graphics.

In terms of hardware, testing has shown that Haswell processors give you a great speed increase, and this time around Apple have included the latest Intel Haswell 4th generation Core in the 13″ model for even faster performance. Add to that the addition of the brand new Iris integrated graphics, which have been shown to more than double the graphics performance you can get with the current Ivy Bridge processor/Intel graphics 4000 setup that’s found in a lot of Apple’s smaller models.

While the 15″ will have the improved Intel Iris Pro, this vast jump in graphics performance is going to be particularly noticeable for anyone who picks up a 13” MacBook Pro with Retina display, as this has always had to rely on integrated graphics. If you’re looking for a more mobile setup for creative work, a 13” MacBook Pro with Retina display and this new, more powerful graphics setup is definitely an option.

Also giving this generation a helping hand is Apple’s new generation of PCIe-based flash storage, which AnandTech reports can reach read/write speeds of up to 800MBps. Add to that Gigabit WiFi (aka 802.11ac, a new, faster WiFi connection that reaches speeds of – you guessed it – 1Gbps) and Thunderbolt 2, and you’ve got yourself a mobile workstation to be proud of.

On a cosmetic level, the MacBook Prow with Retina display is now slightly slimmer and lighter – both models are now a skinny 0.71 inches (1.8cm) thick, with the 13″ weighing in at 3.46 pounds (1.57kg) and the 15″ at 4.46 pounds (2.02kg). Finally, it’s bagged itself a 2MP 1080p FaceTime camera, surely a vast relief to all of us who hold video conferences or Skype into meetings and are sick of having to do so in 720p.

Far and away the most anticipated of Apple’s October releases, the Mac Pro has been occupying an unhealthy amount of our thoughts since it was first unveiled back in June.

The round design means it not only looks great on your desk, but also enables a new cooling system that’s going to keep your Mac Pro near-silent (it’s an evolution of the system that’s been used in the most recent iteration of MacBook Pros). And Sonnet are already working on rackmount solutions that take the new shape into account, which is reassuring to know.

Spec-wise, you’re getting an Intel Xeon E5 chip that’s capable of supporting up to 12 cores, four DDR3 memory slots and the flash storage has a top read speed of 1.25GBps, meaning it’s similar to Steve Wozniack’s latest, the iOFX and up to ten times faster than a 7200 rpm SATA hard drive.

Next up on was the memory, which uses 1866MHz DDR3 ECC. Configurable to 64GB, you’re getting up to 60GBps bandwidth in a four-channel controller. Completely accessible by the user, this is also the fastest ECC memory available.

The native GPUs are dual AMD FirePro cards, capable of delivering up to 7 TFLOPS of power between them and capable of driving native 4K displays.

The six Thunderbolt 2 ports mean you can daisy chain up to 36 devices to your Mac Pro (6 per port), and that’s before you even go near the four USB 3 ports, two Gigabit Ethernet ports, HDMI and Line out connections. In fact, Apple very clearly aimed this at anyone working on high end video and with a 4k workflow because the Mac Pro can deal with up to three 4K displays, single and dual-input displays, and the HDMI 1.4 port supports 4K TVs.

From a storage point of view, Mac Pro will now boast Apple’s latest PCIe-based flash storage, and can be configured up to 1TB, with a standard configuration of 256GB.

Apple CEO Tim Cook has taken to the stage again to introduce a new generation of Apple products, including the new Mac Pro, revamped MacBook Pro with Retina display and OS X Mavericks.

In case last night’s Red Bull-fuelled tweets left you a bit lost and the thought of wading through individual posts fills you with dread, we’re rounding up all the news here. Keep reading to find out more.

Mac Pro: Apple’s gentle giant

One eighth the volume of the previous generation and near-silent thanks to a new cooling system, the 2013 Mac Pro is also extremely powerful. With an Ivy Bridge E5 processor capable of supporting up to 12 cores, flash storage that’s up to 10 times faster than the previous version’s SATA hard drive and dual AMD FirePro GPUs as standard, this is the go-to machine for any creatives looking to tackle a 4K workflow.

MacBook Pro with Retina display: Leaner, meaner and armed with a 2MP camera

As with June’s MacBook Air refresh, the new MacBook Pro with Retina display is all about helping you work faster for longer. New Haswell processors and Intel Iris integrated graphics guarantee you faster performance (up to three times faster, in the case of Iris), while a lighter design and new camera are the top cosmetic changes. MacBook Pro with Retina display is available to order now.

OS X Mavericks – Making waves on the desktop

Among a fresh batch of Apple announcements last night was news that OS X Mavericks is now available to download following months of testing since its launch at WWDC earlier in the year. And the best part of this new release is that it’s completely free!

From iBooks and Maps making their way to the Mac to improved support for multiple displays (yes!) we are expecting big things from this new version of the Mac OS. Here’s a rundown of just some of the new features you’ll find in this latest release!

Given that Yamaha’s 01V96i is probably the most popular digital mixer in the world, you’d think they’d be making some kind of underhanded attempt to cash in on its popularity by upping the price. No. They’re made of more honourable stuff over at Yamaha and have decided to shave £600 off the price instead. As you do.

Yep, the Yamaha 01V96i can now be yours for a mere £1399 (£1678.80 inc VAT), £600 less than usual. And this isn’t a limited time deal of some kind of buy-with-X-to-save-Y spending booby trap, it’s a permanent, no-strings price drop. Thanks Yamaha!

Why do I want a Yamaha 01V96i?

Mostly because it’s the most popular digital mixer in the world, and you don’t want anyone to think you live in the dark ages. But also because its a cross-platform, 16 in/out track mixing desk with a built-in USB 2.0 interface, which means it’s equally at home in recording and production environments or handling live sound.

It can record at up to 96kHz and comes with Steinberg’s Cubase AI software pre-installed – there’s even a cheap upgrade path from the free version to Cubase 7. However, the 01V96i can also be fully integrated with other major ASIO and Core Audio DAW software programs if they’re more your bag.

Also included is the full package of Yamaha VCM Effects plug-ins, high-resolution REV-X reverb and Yamaha’s acclaimed Virtual Circuitry Modelling (VCM) technology, while on the controls front you’re treated to 100mm motor faders, 99 scene memories for instant recall and fully configurable, user defined keys that can be adapted to any studio or sound reinforcement situation.

From today until 29th November 2013, Adobe are bringing back their Creative Cloud for teams price lock offer, an awesome deal that lets you pick up Creative Cloud for teams for just £362 per user, per year for your first two years.

We thought this offer was nothing more than a distant, treasured memory, but it turns out it’s back and better then ever. If you’re just moving over to Creative Cloud, this lets you get your first two years’ subscription at the discounted rate or £362 per annum (that’s less than a pound a day).

If you’ve already moved some of your staff to Creative Cloud for teams, don’t worry! Buy two or more seats of Creative Cloud for teams before 29th November, and not only will those new seats be price locked for two years, but all your existing seats will be locked to their original purchase price for two years too, so you’re immune to any rises in price or additional costs. You’ll also have the option to renew your whole Adobe estate at £362 next year!

It doesn’t matter whether you’re a freelancer, part of an agency or a creative type embedded in a larger company, choosing the right display is key if you want to get your work looking right first time, every time. Investing in a colour accurate display means that what you see on screen will reflect the final output, be that a print campaign, a web image or anything in between.

Displays are often a forgotten part of your designers’ workstation, but if you’re working in Photoshop or InDesign you could be wasting time and money by using a monitor that doesn’t display images accurately. For example, non-colour-accurate displays often have variations in brightness and chromaticity across the screen, so you end up correcting for variations in the display rather than in the image itself. With a colour accurate monitor, you can see the images as they were captured, saving you time and money by reducing the number of iterations needed, and ensuring that you’re working to your client’s specifications rather than your monitor’s variations.

Obviously, different displays are suited to different tasks. Here, we’re looking at the top monitor options for people using key Adobe apps, such as Photoshop or InDesign, at different levels of production. If you want some more information, get in touch with our team on 03332 409 306 or at displays@Jigsaw24.com. Asking costs nothing, after all, and it might save you a few iterations in the long run. If you already know what you need, just click on the banner below to see our full range!

For professionals who need the highest levels of colour accuracy

These displays are ideal for photography, retouching, pre-press and post-production.

If you’re working in photography, image retouching, video post-production or design, you’ll want to opt for the highest possible level of colour accuracy. We recommend the EIZO CG series or NEC’s SpectraView Reference monitors. As Deborah, our product manager explains: “These are the most advanced displays in their line-ups, with the tightest uniformity and colour tolerances. They also come with additional features such as 3D LUTs for smoother colour mixing, hoods to keep glare off the screen and pixel failure warranties for extra peace of mind.”

Both can represent the majority of Adobe RGB, and support hardware calibration, meaning corrections are performed in the display’s LUT itself as opposed to on your graphics card, giving a more accurate result.

For professionals and prosumers

These displays are ideal for general design and photography work.

If you need colour accuracy but aren’t too fussed about extras like hoods or the tightest fault tolerances, save yourself a penny and opt for the EIZO CX range or the NEC SpectraView series. While these don’t have the hand-picked panels of their more expensive peers, they’re still capable of hardware calibration, boast high-bit LUTs and will represent the majority of the Adobe colourspace.

For business users and enthusiasts

These displays are ideal for web graphics, photographers capturing images in sRGB/JPEG and video editors.

“If you’re capturing images in sRGB and JPEG formats, or are developing content for the web and only need to work in sRGB, then the EIZO CS and NEC P series offer great value for money,” says Deborah.”The EIZO CS230 has DUE (digital uniformity equaliser) technology to ensure the most uniform colour representation across the display, a 16-bit LUT, a self-calibration sensor and a five year warranty. Finally, the NEC P range are a good call if you’re after value for money. They don’t have quite the colour critical chops of the others we’ve featured, but cover most of the sRGB space and are ideal for general office use as they have great ergonomics, a wide viewing angle and broad connectivity options.”

One of our earliest e7 adopters, Netherfield Primary School, have just had some amazing news: headteacher Sharon Gray has won teacher of the year at the Pride of Britain awards!

We couldn’t be happier for Sharon and the rest of the staff over at Netherfield, who have put a huge amount of work into creating an inclusive, nurturing environment that plays to their students’ strengths. As our interview with assistant head Nadeem Shah shows, the school has put some fantastic ideas into play, including creating a week-long investigation into an ‘alien landing’ that included every school department as well as the local community.

A student purchase scheme is the most affordable way to give your students the latest classroom technology like iPad. Now, we’ve come up with our own scheme to help you purchase laptops, notebooks and tablets without giving your accountant palpitations, all pre-configured, paid for and delivered through your very own bespoke purchasing portal.

What is a student purchase scheme?

A student purchase scheme is a four-step process that gets you the latest technology while spending the least possible amount of your budget. Here’s how it works:

– We arrange for you to take out a compliant operating lease on the number of devices you’d like to make available to students (this won’t show up on your books and is cheaper than the options they’d be given by a high street outlet). By levering public sector borrowing, you can get fantastic rates, which you can then pass on as savings to your students.

– We then make all the devices and their accessories available in an online portal, which we’ll build specifically for your scheme and brand to fit in with your school’s identity. (We’ve already managed successful portal schemes for the University of Nottingham, Guardian News & Media and more.)

– Students (or parents) log in to the portal, select the device and accessories they want, and set up a monthly direct debit to pay for it – you then use that money to cover the cost of the lease. This can be over up to three years, depending how long your students’ courses are.

– We deliver your laptops and iPad devices to your school, pre-configured and ready to go. We can even provide three year warranties for your iPad deployment, and set you up with insurance options which mean the school isn’t liable if a parent misses a payment.

Why should I try a student purchase scheme?

It lets students get their hands on the latest technology. As well as helping prepare them for workplaces where Macs and iPad are increasingly common, we’ve seen Mac and iPad increase pupil engagement, improve classroom behaviour, open up the curriculum for SEN and EAL students and help teachers find new, innovative ways to deliver learning. At the same time, the opportunity is a great plus if you want to attract top students.

It lets you pass on the cost of innovation. While it’s obviously important to keep your IT setup up to date and ensure the technology you’re teaching students to use has kept pace with the stuff they’ll encounter in the real world, the fact is that innovation can be costly. With a student purchase scheme, you can pass on the bulk of that cost to parents and students, and invest the money you would have spent in improvements to things like your WiFi network and infrastructure, which will ensure students get the best experience out of their devices.

It lets you sidestep time-consuming admin. Because our portal system is entirely paperless, your admin team won’t find themselves with any extra forms to process or have to waste time working out yet another filing system – everything is done online, and managed centrally by our in-house team.

You can even open it up to teachers. If you’re thinking of providing staff with their own laptops or mobile devices, a staff purchasing scheme extends all the same benefits to them, including making it easier for them to work with whichever device suits their teaching style, all while cutting down on your IT costs (although you can of course subsidise the cost of devices if you want or can afford to).

If you’d like to know more about iPad for education, or want someone to run through your IT options with, we’d love to hear from you! Get in touch with the team on 03332 409 333 or email learning@Jigsaw24.com.

F5 and F55 users, we have exciting news. Sony have released a free update for the F55, F5 and ASX-R5 that unlocks 30 new creative features (you’ll need to update your camera and recorder to access them).

Highlights of the new firmware include the introduction of High Frame Rate (HFR) support, comprehensive exposure tools, 24p support and the ability to control audio using the rotary dial.

The download is available for free from the Sony site, but there are a couple of things to note before you hit download. First, you will need to update both your camera and recorder to access all the new features. Second, the download contains 15 files, and you shouldn’t attempt to install the update until all 15 have finished downloading. Third, if you find that after installing the update you still can’t access HFR features, do an ALL RESET on the camera, and that should sort if out.

If you’re using a DVF-EL100 or DVF-L700 viewfinder and want to get false colour, you’ll need to download the v2 software to your camera then send the viewfinders away to Sony Service to get this feature unlocked.

Paul Allen, head of KS2 at English Martyrs Catholic Primary School recently added a radio production suite which has engaged students, improved speaking and listening, and even bagged them a recent Sony Radio award. Head of KS2 Paul Allen told us why he chose the Apple Mac, iPad and GarageBand setup, and how the training from our Apple Professional Development expert Paul Ford helped get staff up to speed.

What were your main goals for the radio lessons?

“The radio was to promote oracy skills. We noticed that as a school we were having more children arrive not able to speak properly, and it was just there to help us promote standard English. We thought that was a creative way of doing it, so that they actually had an end product at the end of the process.”

What setup are you using?

“The first time that we [recorded a radio show], it was all based on the Mac and a lot of children sitting round a microphone, but following Paul’s training we were a bit more clued up and able to go and use GarageBand on the iPad devices, and the pupils went out and recorded the show themselves and then brought it back [to edit with our help].”

How have pupils found using the setup?

“The radio has impacted on children’s speaking and listening, it’s impacted on their writing, it’s also impacted on social skills and confidence as well, because some of the children we targeted the project at were the children who were wary of speaking in front of others, and it’s interesting to see how they’ve developed in confidence.”

Have staff found it easy to pick up?

“Paul ran a session for all the staff, he showed us how to do simple podcasts, he then showed us how to make music as well. Because all staff now have a bit more confidence in using [the Mac and iPad devices] themselves, the children are better, so we feel we’re able to roll them out across the whole school.”

You recently won a Sony Radio award for a piece the school submitted too…?

“They said it was a very entertaining piece, and that’s why we won […] There were lots of stories and different things from across the school. In about May time about three members of staff actually got invited to the actual Sony Radio Awards ceremony in London, and the group of children who produced that particular show, are going for a day at BBC Radio in London to see how it all works.”

How was working with Jigsaw24 and Paul?

“Paul was really friendly, the staff have enjoyed working with him. He’s obviously really passionate about it, and believes that iPad can be used to promote teaching and learning. Whenever he’s come, he’s always worked with a small group of children and he’s showed them how to do something, so we’ve almost got some experts among the children who can then share it with the other children as well, so that approach has worked really well for us.”